MudWings
MudWings are burly, thick-scaled, muscular dragons who live in the Mud Kingdom, the Diamond Spray Delta, the marshes near the Kingdom of the Sea, and up to the border in the south to the Rainforest Kingdom. They are currently ruled by Queen Moorhen. The MudWings were allied with Princess Burn and the SkyWings in the War of The SandWing Succession and fought against Blister and Blaze. However, they were originally allied with Princess Blister, but that alliance broke after the assassination of Commander Tempest (see the full story in Assassin). Burn forced them into the alliance, saying she would destroy them if they didn’t help her win, and also offered 100 years of peace between their tribes if she was to become queen. They live and work in loyal units with their siblings, and whoever is hatched first is known as the Bigwings, or the leader of the group of "sibs" (siblings). Unsibs are MudWings who have lost most or all their siblings related by blood. Sometimes unsibs will make a group and stay together like real siblings, who stick with each other through just about anything. Some MudWings will not accept unsibs in their troops, preferring only their true siblings. MudWings live in large sleephouses that house several dragons (usually siblings). These houses are made of mud, as well as different varieties of marsh plants, like reeds and cattails, and are described as tall towers. MudWings tend to lay around and nap in large mud puddles and seem to not care how other tribes think of them, as their habitat expresses more of comfort than the need for decoration. MudWings, unlike NightWings, are not particularly known for their intelligence, shown when Ex-Queen Scarlet stated that it was unusual to see a MudWing using his head. However, this is just a stereotype, since MudWings like Mayfly have shown to be successful in intellectual careers. Description MudWings have thick, brown, armor-like scales, sometimes with hints of amber or gold in their underscales, which usually show strongest in the sun. Their nostrils are located on the top of the snout on a large, flat head so that they can lay submerged in mud for long periods of time. Their eyes have been described as brown, golden-amber, pale amber, or brown with yellow rings around the pupils. They have strong, sturdy, muscular bodies, and closely resemble alligators, crocodiles, and prehistoric reptiles. Abilities If warm enough, MudWings are able to breathe fire, though not as well as SkyWings. They are most comfortable in muddy or swampy areas and can blend into marshy areas quite well. Mud is often used to treat and ease the pain of wounds and heal them. In addition, they can hold their breath for up to an hour. MudWings that hatch from blood-red eggs, laid every few years or so, are described to be extremely resistant to heat and fire, but according to Sunny in The Brightest Night, it is simply that their scales heal very fast from burns or damage from fire. It is currently unknown if there are causes for eggs to be blood-red, or if it's just random chance, although it is said that NightWings have figured out the patterns and statistics for when blood-eggs would occur. Though fire will still hurt them, any injuries suffered by fire will almost instantly heal over. In The Dragonet Prophecy, Clay demonstrates this when he fights Peril, a SkyWing with firescales, who can incinerate a dragon just by touching them. This fire immunity works faster once the MudWing has been exposed to mud, as dragons draw strength from their natural habitats. Clay was once shown burning his claws in hot coals, though he healed quickly. There has never been a known Animus dragon in the MudWing tribe, and there may never be unless a hybrid is introduced. Social Structure MudWings lay their eggs in mud nests that are well protected with warm rocks and covered in mud walls, in a way similar to real-world crocodilians. The first dragonet to hatch out is often the largest and is known as the bigwings. The bigwings has a natural instinct to help his siblings break open their eggs to help them out, and they eventually become the leader of the siblings. During The Dragonet Prophecy, ''this hatching process was misunderstood; when the guardians Dune, Webs, and Kestrel believed that Clay was trying to ''attack his 'siblings' (the other dragonets) instead of helping them out of their eggs. This shows that Clay is the bigwings of the Dragonets of Destiny. After the mother covers the eggs, she will never again check on them, or even need to, as it is quite rare for MudWing parents to care about their dragonets, and the eggs are very safe even if they did. As a result, the bigwings of the group usually becomes the caretaker and parental figure. Siblings grow up together, learning to hunt and survive and form very close bonds. These groups are often called "sibs" by MudWings, but the term is seldom known or used in any of the other tribes. During wars, the army of MudWings is made up of troops that are formed by these sibling groups, which allows them to fight very effectively as one unit. If enough siblings are lost in battle, the other members of the troop will look for other dragons (unsibs) to form a new group with, sometimes joining old groups who have lost one or two members, although some groups refuse to accept unsibs. Pairings are not formal, with a breeding night once a month. Parents do not raise their children, and usually, do not know the names of their offspring. Males have no part in caring for their offspring, and neither do the mothers. Often nobody would even know who the father was. Family is comprised of the siblings. Less wealthy MudWings usually live on the outskirts of MudWing territory, near the Diamond Spray Delta (known as the place where the lowest born MudWings dwell, according to Kestrel), while the rest live closer to the center of the kingdom. Since MudWings are so loyal to their siblings, no queen has ever been challenged by any of her sisters. This could also be because the bigwings is the strongest, (queens are usually the bigwings of a group) and the others know that they will not defeat her in a challenge. Their names generally relate to earth and swamps, and the things that live there, such as Reed, Crane, Clay, Pheasant, Moorhen, Sora, and Cattail, or shades of brown, such as Umber, Sepia, and Ochre. Sometimes they can also be named after types of diamonds, such as Asha, possibly because they form in areas with mud or because of the Diamond Spray Delta. Known MudWings Click here for a list of known MudWings. Trivia * In the first two books, Clay, a MudWing hatched from a blood-red egg, only felt the heat when he touched fire, but throughout the rest of the series, it gave him burns that healed over within a number of seconds. * At the beginning of the SandWing War of Succession, the MudWings were allied with Blister. The SeaWings accused the MudWings of killing Commander Tempest, and the MudWings denied it. Presumably, Blister chose the SeaWings over the MudWings and lost their alliance. Burn later threatened them into siding with her. * When Chameleon is trying to persuade Peril to let him change her during Ruby's and Scarlet's battle, he says, "Scarlet wanted her out of the way but not dead. She couldn't get rid of all ''her heirs. A kingdom without any heirs is in perpetual danger… I think all the queens learned that from what happened to the MudWings a couple of centuries ago.", ''Escaping Peril, page 231 hinting that the MudWings may have caused chaos in Pyrrhia when the tribe had no female heirs when a queen may have died. This could also hint that Queen Moorhen isn't related to the original line of MudWing queens (i.e. Queen Crane). *In lineart by Joy Ang, MudWings are the only tribe pictured with their mouth closed. *The scales on the MudWing heads resemble the large bone on the Pachyrhinosaurus. *It is implied that the MudWings used to be a hostile, aggressive tribe in Darkstalker (Legends), as Queen Lagoon states that she didn’t like how "the MudWings and RainWings have been behaving lately"Darkstalker (Legends), page 46. *According to the guide, MudWings are usually very strong, and this is shown several times as Crocodile knocked out several dragons at once with her tail and Clay is mentioned to be powerful more than once. *In book one, The Dragonet Prophecy, it was hinted that being hatched from a blood red egg is not uncommon. *There are 17 known MudWings so far in the series. *MudWings apparently resemble alligators and crocodiles due to their scales and ability to hold their breath for up to one hour. *They also resemble turtles, for once they lay their eggs, they leave the nest and go on about their usual lives. *They don't seem to care about the MudWing they mate with, as they only mate to have offspring, unlike the other tribes for the most part. *Tui has once stated that she imagines that MudWings sleep in a pile together in their sleephouse. *MudWings and RainWings are the only known tribes that are known to not care for the offspring. Gallery To go to the gallery, click here References Category:Tribes of Dragons Category:MudWing History